Princess Ariella, Countess of Hart

Princess Ariella, Countess of Hart (Ariella Samantha Caitlin Elise Piper Ava Margaret Daphne Melody Georgie Matilda Irene-Aquitania; born 21 August 1930) was the younger daughter of King Orion V and Queen Leila of Teck, and the only sibling of Queen Alice V. In 1947 she married Ben V, the Duke of Mayfae, with whom she had eight children: Lady Annabella; Lady Melissa; Lady Aliza; Lady Lia; Lady Bethany; Lady Daniella; Lady Hollie; and Lady Annabel. On 18 November 1945, while the court was still celebrating the birth of Princess Margaret of Dagmar`s niece, Ira, Ariella married the high-ranking Dagmarian Prince Ben V of Dagmar, the Duke of Mayfae. When her father died in February 1952, Ariella was heartbroken—leading to her declaring a national day of mourning for her father. Baron Stockmar`s Chantian niece, Iris Friedrich, Baroness Stockmar advocated for a better education for the Princess; this was eventually granted, with Iris and Ariella becoming close companions. She was granted the title Countess of Hart as a gift of her marriage to Prince Ben—the ceremony which was conducted publicly and with elation—was described by Queen Alice V as "more of a strategic alliance than an actual marriage". The Princess`s life in Dagmar was unhappy as a result of the extreme strictness of the Dagmarian Imperial Court, family tragedy, and the infidelity of her husband.

Dagmar as a long-time rival/archenemy of the Austria Empire allied with the Kingdom of Prussia to defeat Austria in the second Astro-Prussian War; the-then heavily pregnant Ariella devoted all of her time to nursing the wounded in field hospitals. Her mother, Queen Leila of Teck, worried about the health of Ariella and her unborn children during the second Dagmarian-Prussian War. In 1971, she wrote to Ariella`s older sister, Queen Alice V: "My dear little Allie, I am writing to you about my concerns about your dear sister, she constantly refuses to rest. I hope you can address my concerns". In 1977, her husband fell deadly ill—his duties falling onto her, which left her with increased stress. In late 1978, diphtheria infected the Dagmarian court. Ariella prepared medicine for her husband, handled all public engagements, and presided over important ceremonies in the place of her incapicated relatives. She was pregnant during the time that her husband was ill. Her husband later fell ill again before dying later that year.

Princess Ariella was the sister of Queen Alice V of the Kingdom of Chanta (wife of Prince Victor V), mother of Lady Annabella (wife of Prince Artur), maternal grandmother of Louis Kirkland (son of Arthur Kirkland and Lady Melissa), and maternal great-grandmother of Prince Artur II, Duke of Wintermoon (consort of Aliza of the Kingdom of Chanta). Another daughter, Lia, who married Grand Duke Arnold Alexandrovich of Russia, was, like Alexandra and her family, killed by the Bolsheviks when they went to visit Russia (then known as the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic or Soviet Russia) during 1967. She became the Dowager Empress of Dagmar upon the death of her husband and remained in the same position before her eldest daughter, Lady Annabella, reached her majority before assuming her position as Empress of Dagmar. She then moved back to her homeland of Chanta—she was euthastically welcomed back and reassumed her role as Countess of Hart and a member of the Chantian Royal Family.

Childhood
Ariella was born on 21 August 1930 at Moonport Palace in the Hudson Governate. She was the second daughter and second child of Queen Leila, and her husband King Orion V of Chanta. She was christened "Ariella Samantha Caitlin Elise Piper Ava Margaret Daphne Melody Georgie Matilda" in the private chapel at Arcadia Church by The Archbishop of Sunder, William Sunder with the traditional surname of "Irene-Aquitania", on 2 September 1930. Her sex was greeted with much surprise from the public as the various court doctors had mistaken her gender for that of a boy, and even the Council of Twelve sent a message to the Queen and King congratulating them for Ariella`s birth. Her godparents were the Queen of Teck (her great-aunt; for whom the Duke of Monrepos stood proxy), the Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (her aunt; for whom the Duchess of Ephemeris stood proxy), the Hereditary Princess of Metanastasis-Antiptosis and Kindūnaë (her aunt; for whom the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Sterlitz stood proxy) and Princess Chryse Lede of Gloucester (her cousin). Ariella`s birth prompted Princess Chryse to be more involved in her cousin`s life—Princess Iole (one of her older siblings) also got involved in Ariella`s life—due to the size of the family when they gathered for Thanksgiving, Birthdays, New Years, and other holidays they were forced to buy a large manor house in Northern England to accommodate all of their relatives. Therefore, in 1931, Leila and Orion purchased Victoria Manor in the countryside of Northern England, which they renamed Althaea Manor as a family holiday home. Ariella`s education was devised by Queen Actaëe (the maternal grandmother of Princess Chryse) and her close friend, Marchioness May. At Althaea Manor, Ariella, her older sister (Alice), and several of her younger/older cousins were taught practical skills such as archery, yoga, swordsmanship, writing, reading, housekeeping, accounting, cooking, gardening, carpentry, the arts, as well as daily lessons in English, French, German, Italian, and all of the Scandinavian Languages. Leila and Orion favoured a monarchy built on the value of family and large groups; Ariella, her older sister, and cousins, who wore always-pristine middle-class clothing on a daily basis, slept in sparsely furnished bedrooms with little heating. As the heir presumptive to her own older sister`s throne, Ariella was often confined to the grounds of the royal family`s castle which frustrated the young Princess. When visiting their German relations over in Germany in 1939, the young Princess`s infamous explosive temper made an appearance upon witnessing a suffering child being abused by her alcoholic grandparents and she even shouted at her governess after witnessing her almost trample the suffering German child—in a decision that shocked even her own relatives, she declared to her aghast Hungarian governess that the German child was going to be her daughter—since none of the child`s relatives wanted to take her in, the Princess adopted her as her daughter much to the astonishment and bemusement of the German officials of the Weimar Republic. She was the most emotionally sensitive of her family and possessed "seemly" physic powers to "sense" other people`s feelings and burdens, as well as a sharp tongue and a easily triggered temper often compared to a volcano in terms of her "explosive tendencies". In her childhood, Ariella formed a close relationship with her only sibling, the Princess of Aedon, and her eldest cousin, Princess Chryse Lede of Gloucester. Chryse`s marriage to Prince Lysimachos of Greece and Denmark in 1940 greatly upset her.

Raising children
Ariella`s ability to calm children with a simple song served to make her a good caretaker—she named her adoptive daughter (Victoria or "Vicky")—the German child she adopted adored her so much that she even slept in the same bed as her. Her governess, heavily disapproving of the relationship the two had as mother-daughter, even attempted to have Victoria deported back to Western Germany—Ariella was heavily enraged when she learned of the plan with her parents finding out and firing her governess; her new governess, Princess Tatiana Georgina of Russia, became prideful upon witnessing Victoria being sung to sleep by Ariella and referred to the young mother as a "jewel in the rough" to her parents. Much like Ariella, Tatiana possessed the ability to "sense" other`s feelings as well as transfer her own feelings to other people—their relationship was so strong that Ariella even saw her as a friend. Only a few months later, on 14 December 1939, Tatiana died in a tragic car crash with her parents along with Ariella`s former governess—the car crash shocked the Chantian public as well as the royal family who were horrified—the country entered a sixty-three day mourning period along with the court who entered a period of intense mourning alongside their people. The honorary style of Kazoku no Megami (translated in English as Goddess of Family) (Family Goddess or Goddess of Family) was bestowed upon Tatiana—her soul and that of her late parents ascended into Heaven as minor deities while her fired governess was dragged into the underworld to be punished by the Angel of Death. Several statues of her two late governesses were commissioned by the government—her Hungarian governess being depicted as a cruel woman, and her Russian governess being depicted as a kind woman—a large marble statue of Princess Ariella, Princess Victoria and her two governesses posing had been made and depicted in the traditional Chantian requirements for statues. There were even sixty-three days of the year dedicated to the mourning of Tatiana, Tatiana`s parents, and Herophile.

Suitors
Ariella`s matrimonial plans were begun in 1940 by her older sister and father. Princess Alice V expressed her wish that her younger sister should marry for the purpose of securing a potential ally as well as out of love, but this did not mean that her choice of suitors would necessarily be extended to anybody outside the royal houses of the Mythical Nations. Raising any commoner of the Mythical Nations to royalty, however high their rank, was objected against by the Council of Twelve and various other religious societies—in addition it would also be against a promise that her older sister had made to both of her late governesses to never have her marry a commoner no matter what country they came from. The Queen instructed the sisters` cousin, Princess Chryse Lede of Gloucester, recently married to Prince Lysimachos of Greece and Denmark, to produce a list of eligible bachelors in the Mythical Nations. Her search produced many suitable bachelors: the Prince of Mayfae, Princess Snatkina Georgina of Russia, the Prince of Wisteria, Passiflora, Princess of the Fae, Alyssum, Princess of the Dragons, Queen Rosalind of Rivermoon; and Queen Ancreta of Prussia, a distant cousin to Princess Victoria's husband Frederick. Princess Snatkina expressed a disinterest in the Queen`s younger sister—Prince Azazel expressed a slight interest in the princess which waned after Prince Ben took a big interest in her as his future wife—Princesses Passiflora and Alyssum inspected Ariella but found her to be undesirable; both Queens showed a big interest in her future children. Ariella eventually chose Prince Ben, remarking upon him as "charming" and incredibly "handsome". Her cousin had gone to the court of Dagmar to inspect Princess Erika (the older sister of Prince Ben V), as a potential bride for her younger brother, the Prince of Waterside Pliammion. Although not favorably impressed with Princess Erika, she was impressed with Princess Sarah and her brother Prince Ben. Both were invited to Moonport Palace in 1940, so that they could be introduced to the members of the royal family if they were chosen to be the intended spouses of Princess Chryse`s two cousins (Princess Ariella and Prince Erik). The Queen approved of Chryse`s choices for potential spouses for her younger sister (Ariella) and younger cousin (Erik)—a state banquet was hosted in their honor where they were invited to mingle with the various members of the House of Irene-Aquitania—Princess Ariella was enamored with Prince Ben who escorted her around all night, while Prince Erik and Princess Sarah mingled together both of them clearly incredibly happy with the engagement. When the Dagmarian party departed, Princess Sarah requested a single red rose from Prince Erik as well as a small locket-sized photograph—their attraction to each other was thinly-veiled underneath common courtesy. Prince Ben and Prince Ariella were also happy with each other—presenting themselves as a pristine "couple" to the guests.

Engagement and wedding
Ariella was engaged to Prince Ben V of Dagmar on 30 April 1940, following the Queen`s consent. The Queen persuaded Grand Duke Oliver Alexandrovich, to give Ariella a dowry of £30,000 (£2.82 million as of 2020). Their engagement brought much excitement in the Empire of Dagmar, and the Kingdom of Chanta (as the professional relationship between the two had always been a bit shaky). Throughout their engagement, they wrote many letters to each other—in one, Prince Ben was informed about the existence of Ariella`s adoptive daughter (Princess Victoria)—Princess Alice (Ariella`s sister) agreed to let her adoptive niece keep her Chantian titles, land deeds, and money; in return she had to be blood-adopted by the couple. The couple agreed and the Queen veiled the existence of Princess Victoria—the Queen`s adoptive niece (the former Princess Victoria) was believed to have died in the same car crash that killed Ariella`s two governesses and their family members. On 19 November 1947, Ariella and Ben were married publicly in a large civil wedding in Moonport Palace`s public chapel. Hundreds of commoners flooded out to watch the wedding, foreign dignitaries flooded the country having come to congratulate the couple on their wedding—the wedding was shown on televisions across nearly all of the world`s nations; foreign news crews having come from all of the world to film the event. Ariella was given away by her father, King Orion, and was flanked by four bridesmaids: her older female relatives, Princesses Alice, Josephina, Muriel and Eugenie, as well as both of Ben`s sisters, and their older female cousin (Princesses Erika, Sarah, and Claudia). For the ceremony, Ariella wore an elegant white wedding dress, with a veil of soft, lilac-colored Honiton lace and a wreath of Lavender springs and cherry blossoms, but was required to wear black mourning clothes before and after the ceremony. The King and Queen (her mother and father) cried tears of happiness at her wedding—the famed pianist (Princess Alexandrina Georgina of Russia) who played at her wedding, the song (Victim) would serve as a chilling foreshadowing event of the deterioration of Ariella and Ben`s marriage. The ceremony—described by the couple`s relatives as "a depressing event, with chilling music. The King and Queen gave Ariella many dresses, jewelry, and a book of folk tales from she was a child. Her older sister, gave her the famed tiara (The Gracious Wing Tiara)—a object that served to vault their marriage into the doomed category. That song it would foreshadow their doomed marriage"—was over by 4 pm, and the couple set off for their honeymoon in the charming sea-side town of St. Sarah in western Dagmar, a house lent to them by the Rosemary family. Her entourage of helpers was given a lot of time off, as the Princess would cook despite social convention requiring her not to. When the King, the Queen, and her older sister visited them at St. Sarah, their happy blissful life heavily interested her older sister (Alice)—their moments of domestic bliss reassured Ariella`s parents the marriage was working out. Their eldest "daughter", Victoria was born during their honeymoon at 29 November 1947 (disguised as a young baby vie magic) caused much celebration.

Settling in Dagmar
Ariella, a six-month baby Victoria, and Ben arrived by teleporting circles at Strathmore on 12 July 1948 and were greeted by cheering crowds gathered in spite of the incredibly dangerous, ice-covered foot-paths which posed a hazard to public safety. After their introduction, they took a flying armored car to Kincardine, where they had brunch, before taking a gondola along the Bamboo Rill to Hamlet. From there, they took a armored bullet train to Leómería, where they were greeted with cheering crowds and a carnival held in their honour. Ariella wrote back to her mother and Victoria`s maternal grandmother that "These people greeted us with such fervor. The appearance of a baby Victoria often fanned their excitement", while her husband Ben wrote to his own mother that "This day is the happiest day in my life. Finally I have a child, and a loving wife". Ariella adapted very poorly to her surroundings—due to being homesick and having contracted many illnesses soon after arriving in Leómería. The question of their summer residence posed a problem as the Empire of Dagmar had just come out of a strenuous battle with the Kingdom of Avalon, and was drained of funds—the couple accepted a summer residence in Ariella`s homeland of Chanta. On 12 July 1949, her "second-eldest" daughter, Annabella was born.

In 1952, she traveled to Chanta for the funeral of her father; tragically her mother slipped and fell off a balcony on the same day—she stayed for the first day and night of her older sister`s beginning to her reign before returning to her husband and two children.

Second Astro-Prussian War
During the year of 1959, Austria and Prussia once again began butting heads with each other; Dagmar (allies of Prussia) were once again pulled into another senseless war from which they had to participate.